The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Osteospermum plant, botanically known as Osteospermum ecklonis (DC) T. Norl., commonly known as Cape Daisy and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar denomination ‘Shiela’.
The new Osteospermum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor, Bjarne Larsen, in Stige, Odense, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program is to develop a new Osteospermum cultivar with upright, compact plant habit, interesting inflorescence color, good branching performance, low growth retardant requirements and low temperature tolerance.
The new Osteospermum originated from a planned crossing made by the Inventor in 2003 in Stige, Odense, Denmark. The female or seed parent is ‘Sunny Serena’, (patented, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,693). The male or pollen parent is Osteospermum ecklonis cultivar designated ‘30.013.01’ (unpatented). The new Osteospermum cultivar ‘Shiela’ was selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the above crossing in 2003 in a controlled environment in Stige, Odense, Denmark.
Asexual reproduction of the new Osteospermum cultivar by apical stem cuttings was first performed in June of 2003 in Stige, Odense, Denmark, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true-to-type.